Exercise is a key element in maintaining a healthy lifestyle as you age. Try going for a bike ride on local trails, walking with friends or canoeing on a nearby lake. Participating in competitive events, like a race, is a great way to stay motivated to train and stay active. Here, runners and walkers ages 5 to 71 take part in the 2014 Run for Roses 5K event during Roseville’s annual Rosefest celebration June 28. (Linda E. Andersen/Review staff)

Heart health should be a year-round consideration for anybody looking to lead a healthy life.

While that may sound like a daunting task, better heart health can be possible with a few steps in the right direction.

Call in sick! That is the advice from the nation’s emergency physicians if you happen to have flu-like symptoms. Doctors suggest it’s one of the best ways to help prevent the spread of this year’s particularly aggressive national flu outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that as we turned the corner from 2013 to 2014, influenza was “widespread” in 25 states, including Minnesota, and “regional” in 20.

If the current economic situation were compared to the weather, it would be a blizzard. Between a tanking economy, millions of home foreclosures, dwindling retirement savings, and the upcoming holiday season, many Americans are reeling from the financial strain. In a recent survey by the American Psychological Association that asked people to rank causes of stress, 80 percent of Americans put money and the economy right at the top of the list.

As Minnesota consumers start planning for their insurance needs in time for Open Enrollment and the opening of Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace, MNsure, on October 1, 2013, the Minnesota Department of Commerce urges consumers to take a look at the options to make the best fit. Understanding the difference between a health insurance premium and a rate will help consumers find health insurance that fits their financial and health needs.

It’s back-to-school time and parents are prepared with their children’s enrollment forms, orientation schedules and immunizations — but what about their eyes?
Most children have healthy eyes. But because there are conditions that can threaten good vision, the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology reminds parents that good vision and eye health are key to students’ ability to do well in the classroom.

Almost everyone who lives a long life will develop cataracts at some point. August is Cataract Awareness Month, and the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology is encouraging seniors and their caregivers to understand cataract risks, symptoms, and prevention tips, as well as how to decide when it is time for cataract surgery so good vision can be restored.